“I envy the Japanese” Van Gogh wrote to his brother Theo. In the exhibition on which this film is based – VAN GOGH & JAPAN at the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam – one can see why. Though Vincent van Gogh never visited Japan it is the country that had the most profound influence on him and his art.

One cannot understand Van Gogh without understanding how Japanese art arrived in Paris in the middle of the 19th century and the profound impact it had on artists like Monet, Degas and, above all, Van Gogh. Visiting the new galleries of Japanese art in Paris and then creating his own image of Japan – through in-depth research, print collecting and detailed discussions with other artists – Van Gogh’s encounter with Japanese artworks gave his work a new and exciting direction. After leaving Paris for the south of France – to what he thought of as near to a kind of Japan as he could find – the productive and yet troubled years that followed must all be seen in the context of Van Gogh bending Japanese influences to his will and defining himself as a modern artist with clear Asian precursors. In this little known story of Van Gogh’s art we see just how important his study of Japan was. The film travels not only to France and the Netherlands but also to Japan to further explore the remarkable heritage that so affected Van Gogh and made him the artist we know of today.

Those of you who have been following me over the years know we are motivated by a desire to bring art and artists to as wide an audience as possible. Thus part of me is delighted when I hear of another Van Gogh or Caravaggio film. After all, how often is Hamlet or The Marriage of Figaro performed? Great art withstands numerous viewings and explorations. On the other hand, I admit to some frustration when the same old myths are perpetuated, the same legends laid out as if they offer the only ‘truth’ about an artist and their life. Van Gogh is a great example of this: the crazed Dutchman walking with furrowed brows and hunched shoulders through fields of sunflowers on his way to another night of drinking in brothels... It’s lazy and unfair. For one thing, there was no such thing in his lifetime as a field of sunflowers! To over-stress his mental illness or the occasional night-time bawdiness overlooks the passion and sheer effort he put into becoming a great artist. That’s what I want to know more about: how and why did he paint the way he did? Who did he learn from? What was he trying to say? Hence, when we heard about the major exhibition ‘Van Gogh and Japan’ touring Japan and coming to the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam, we leapt at the chance to use that as a springboard to explore some of those questions. Frankly, one cannot over-estimate the impact that Japanese art had on artists like Van Gogh – and others such as Monet, Degas and Cézanne – when they first encountered it in Paris in the mid 19th Century. It was revolutionary. The paintings we know and love – the paintings that some argue make him the world’s favourite artist – cannot be fully appreciated without grasping how deeply Japanese art affected him. Cinema is about story-telling and this is a cracking story. I hope you enjoy it – and I hope you relish the chance to look afresh at the work of a hard-working, deep-thinking and hugely enthusiastic artist. Watch it once, and then try to come back with a friend who perhaps is one of those poor souls who says the awful words ‘I’m not into art’. What makes Van Gogh so great, so timeless, is that he communicates about us to us – and those who think art is not for them should think again. Firstly, because art is for everyone and, secondly, because Van Gogh – aided by the impact of Japanese art – was and is a master communicator to all of us." Phil Grabsky, Director

[Not Available in Italy, Spain & Poland]